Gloucester County to house juvenile detainees in Camden County

EAST GREENWICH TWP. -- The Gloucester County Juvenile Detention Center in Clarksboro is closing and the juveniles detained there will be housed at the Camden County juvenile facilty in Gloucester Township.

"We have studied this issue from every angle and this decision has been made with the best interest of our youth at the forefront," said Freeholder Director Stephen Sweeney. "This is an opportunity to provide a better facility and enhanced support services to Gloucester County juveniles. The Camden County Youth Center is a state-of-the-art facility and the in-house support services exceed what Gloucester County has to offer at the present time."

The Camden County Youth Center offers several education rooms, an art program, a nursing hall, an intake area, an isolation area, recreation areas and a dining hall.

While Gloucester County currently offers the basic services that are required of such a facility, the building is aging and the space to dedicate to various services provided is minimal.

Gloucester County's Juvenile Detention Center has one classroom, one teacher and minimal space for nursing and medical services. The design of CCYC meets the needs for space, recreation, intake, and visitations.

Gloucester County detains an average of 10 juveniles per year. A Gloucester County representative will be dedicated to the Gloucester County population and will be on-site in Camden County as needed.

Camden County will provide a working space at the CCYC for the Gloucester County liaison, who will coordinate with the facility's senior social worker.

Gloucester County anticipates a considerable decrease in costs through personnel and operational savings. With a reduction of staff, operational costs and avoided capital expenses the projected savings to the county taxpayers is $1.7 million annually.

The CCYC is currently staffed for capacity at 61. Camden County's juvenile detention population average is 49, and Gloucester County's juvenile detention population average is 10.

On average, regionalization of the two county populations will run below the CCYC's capacity.

If there is a circumstance where capacity is exceeded, Gloucester County is has reached an agreement with Cumberland County to handle any overflow.

In the event that Camden County and Cumberland County are both at full capacity, then Gloucester County could initiate other contracts with other county juvenile detention centers.

Under the agreement to regionalize Juvenile Detention Center Services Gloucester County will contract with Camden County for a period of one year with an option to extend the contract.